Habits. They follow us everywhere, every day. We begin each new year vowing to change them.

I’ve been thinking more about my habits. Of course, the bad ones, like repeatedly falling weakly to the “all u can eat” M&M dispenser on my co-team member’s desk. It’s strategically placed right in my path to-and-from the restroom.  And, let’s not forget the big bowl of assorted chocolates in the office that someone or something mysteriously recently kept re-filling overnight. Temptation is everywhere.

Then, there are those good habits we adopt such as taking the time to exercise DURING the workday. Luckily, I am a part of a company that encourages good habits. Adopting a new, good habit is easy except for when you want to replace it for an old, bad habit.

As a Product Owner, I constantly think how users will interact with the software we design: How does it impact their routines, is it intuitive, and does it encourage them to change poorly-practiced habits?

Which brings me to The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Before now, I never really thought about habits and how they form. Apparently, without any input from us, the brain will try to make habits out of every routine, to save energy and enable us to devote our noggins to more critical tasks such as devising the next hot start up concept. Training your brain to change a habit is the challenge.

Enjoy the diagram below. I have it posted in my workspace and hope that, over time, it will inspire me to change my pesky habit.